Manufacturers of simple seat mount and adjustment systems have used, or are currently using, a conventional steel mounting plate with laterally spaced parallel slots that allow fore and aft movement of a seat and a series of holes to facilitate latching the seat in a desired fore and aft position. The mounting plate typically contains flanges formed perpendicular to the seat mounting surface. The formed flanges, located towards the forward end of the mounting plate, attach to a second bracket mounted to the vehicle using pivot bolt or rod. Two compression springs generally support the rearward end of the mounting plate to provide suspended travel of the mounting plate and the seat. The seat is attached to the mounting plate with sets of threaded fasteners that pass through an arrangement of washers and bearings and the parallel slots in the mounting plate. Each threaded fastener is secured to the seat pan using a threaded nut typically welded or mechanically fastened to the seat pan. Four sets of threaded fasteners and washers, arranged in two parallel rows typically engage a pair of parallel slots and are secured to the seat pan. A spring biased latch bar attached with threaded fasteners to the seat, or to a secondary bracket that is attached to the seat, engages the holes in the slide plate to position the seat in desired fore/aft location. The above components are generally assembled at the same time the seat is installed on the vehicle.
Another simple seat mounting and adjustment system consists of a seat shell with rails and threaded nuts, a mounting plate with receiving channels and a central slot, a shoulder bolt, and a threaded hand knob. The seat shell contains two raised parallel rails that are either molded into the seat shell during the manufacture of the seat shell or formed from a secondary plate and subsequently mechanically fastened to the bottom of the seat shell. The seat shell or secondary plate also contains two internally threaded nuts secured to the shell to receive the shoulder bolt and the threaded knob. The mounting plate contains two receiving parallel channels that align and capture the raised rails of the seat. A slot located between the channels is pierced into the mounting plate and has a length to accommodate the desired fore and aft adjustment range. The shoulder bolt is inserted thru the slot in the mounting plate and is secured to one of the threaded nuts in the seat shell. The shoulder of the bolt is tightened using an appropriate tool against the threaded nut. A hand operated threaded knob is inserted thru a washer, thru the slot in the mounting plate and is secured to the second of the threaded nuts in the seat shell. The threaded knob is tightened by hand fixing the mounting plate to the seat shell. Loosening the threaded knob allows the seat fore-aft position to be adjusted to an infinite number of positions defined by the length of the slot in the mounting plate.
What is needed is a seat mount and slide element that is of simple, durable, robust and economical construction.